On Leave
by Autobot Xena
Summary: Coming home from leave, Elizabeth B. Esquivel finds war even in the strangest of places. Especially when her brother is involved, she feels like a private again. She must fight with her brother only on trust and worry. Can she be helped? Rated T for possible language and obvious violence. I dont own Transformers. KnockoutxOC. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

Okay. Let's try this. New story, and after 2 ½ seasons of TFP I should be , short chapter because I have somewhere to be. Tell me if anyone is out of character, and I will try to fix it. This story takes place in...eh, around season 1 or season 2. Thank you.

The thick warm air seemed to slow me down, tossing my hair to and fro with whip-like tenacity. My legs pumped as hard as they could, my feet rhythmically hitting the ground in a quick, strained pace. I was gulping for air, my lungs straining from the work. My sole objective: dont let it catch me. Dont let it grab me and toss me into the darkened corner.

Let me live.

I felt the vibrations, the monster slowly gaining on me. I tried to run faster, but I could only go so fast. I felt the claws of it scrape my heel, and I fell in pain. I looked up to see the monster's terrible face, a wide gaping grin with sharp, serrated teeth. It opened the hinges, and I felt it close around my head. The knives stabbed through my neck, and I fell unconcious.

And then I woke up.

Catherine was shaking me, her expression was horrified and worried. I relaxed, then looked around. We were still on the cargo plane. I wiped my brow, almost flooding with sweat.

"You okay? Damn Eliza, that's the fourth time this week!"

I shuddered, feeling how cold the back of my neck was. "I'm...I'm fine. I just need to breathe. Did I hurt you? Did I lash out again?"

She nodded, slumping back in her seat. "You fought like you were going to die. I thought you said that they stopped, Eliza! I thought this wouldn't be a problem anymore!"

I flinched at her words. She quickly stated, "I didn't mean...oh, God. I just hate it when you DO that. I know you don't do it on purpose but I swear someday that is gonna kill me."

I nodded, bringing my knees up to my chin. It happened again.

Ever since I lost my brother in that raid, I have been having nightmares. Strange thing is, it's the same one again, and again, and again. I get chased, I fall, and I get disemboweled by...something. The last few days had been nightmare-free, though, so I presumed they had stopped for good. Of course, they wouldn't stop. This had happened before, where they took a break and then come back with all-too well known vividness. It hurt. Only recently had I been lashing out during my nightmares, and giving the guy next to my bunk a nice-sized scratch on his cheek. He moved bunks shortly after.

That's why I was coming home. After five years in the Army, I was finally going home for as long as I needed. So was Cat, but she wasn't going to be in Jasper long. She was going to Reno, where she would spend some much-needed time with her younger sibling. Speaking of which...

I pulled out a faded photograph, the edges worn from where I held it. In the photograph were my parents, my little brother, and me. We were all standing in front of a miniature replica of the Taj Mahaal at Legoland, and laughing throughout the photo. Yep, that was a good day. Let's just hope that Raphael didn't forget who I was.

The plane landed, the jolt of impact rolling through the cabins. I was blinded by the light outside, as we flew all night. We were let out with a firm handshake and a couple of salutes. Our bags were piled outside, carrying everything we left with (except perishables). I stood for a good minute, breathing in the warm Nevada air and feeling the asphalt underneath my feet. God, it was great to be on Earth.

I walked around, looking for any sign of my family. As I skimmed the edges of the crowd, a firm large hand was placed on my shoulder. I turned around to meet General Fowler. I stood to attention.

"Sir, General Fowler, Sir!"

He looked me up and down for a few moments before calling me off. "At ease."

I relaxed without a moments notice, though I still stayed to attention.

"It's good to see you well, Esquivel." He started, his arms clamped behind his back, "I was sent here to pick you up. Your family isn't here at the moment."

Before I could ask questions, a helicopter started up. Fowler took my shoulder and marched me into it. I sat down, placing the earmuffs and microphone over my head. I did a sound check, and in no time we were in the air.

"Enjoy your time there?" Fowler asked, his hands fiddling with his sunglasses.

"Of course sir. Best job in the world." He smiled, "You don't need to talk to me like that, Eliza. You're home, yes? Just be yourself now. I'm no longer General, remember?" I relaxed in my seat, grinning back at him. It was good to talk to him again.

"So, where am I being taken? It's not another routine mission, is it?" He laughed, slapping his knee. "No Elizabeth, it's not another routine mission. You see, a lot has changed here since you left. Though it doesn't look like it, things have changed. I'm gonna have to warn you. Your brother has changed, too. Don't treat him like a baby."

I scoffed. "A baby? Honestly Fowler, I thought you knew me better. He is my brother." I stopped, then looked up at him suspiciously, "Exactly how much change are you talking about?"

He sighed, then looked out the helicopter. "Oh look, here's our stop."

The slow downward movement of the helicopter as it descended made my stomach churn. Oh god, I want a paper bag. We landed on a small platform, out in the middle of nowhere. As I exited, I froze as I heard a voice.

"No Bee, I don't think she knows who you are...well, maybe Fowler can update her on what happened. She has been gone for five years, Bee, I'm not sure..."

A group of children, three, stood and talked together. The tallest was talking with a girl with a pink streak in her hair. The smallest one...

All three of them stopped talking and looked at us. The smallest stood away from the other two and was staring at me. Out of sheer impulse, I walked towards him. He copied, starting to jog. I ran. He sprinted. Then, when we were five feet from each other, we stopped.

His brown hair was a flame, blown back by the wind. He wore regular clothes, and his pants bagged over his shoes. His glasses, too large for his face, sat in front of large brown eyes. Yep, nothing changed.

I hugged him, and he hugged back. I smiled as I touseled his hair. "Hey!" he exclaimed, putting his hands over his hair. I laughed. "What? I can't be rough anymore? Has someone turned soft when I was gone?" In response, he tackled me, sending me plopping on the floor. "Good to see you, Raph."

He wiped away some tears, and smiled too, "Good to see you too. I missed ya."

His two friends were standing there. I stood back up, and I brought Raph to my shoulders. The oldest one looked around 16, and the girl maybe 15. "Hey," I said, putting a hand out, "I'm Elizabeth. But just call me Eliza." The boy smiled back and took my hand, shaking it, "I'm Jack. This is Miko." I turned to the spunky little girl, who took my hand eagerly. "Nice to meet 'cha!"

Fowler had already left, so we were standing out in the wilderness. I raised one eyebrow, "So, um, how did you guys get here?"

Raphael smiled and pointed north. I saw a small dust cloud, which slowly got bigger and bigger. Then, more. It seemed to divide. I squinted, trying to make out the shape. A slew of vehicles surrounded us, of numerous size and shape. I looked up at Raphael (still on my shoulder) and gave him a questioning glance. He only whispered, wait for it. For what? Then, I got to see what he was talking about.

They transformed.

Welp, can't say I am happy. I became lazy for a year. I needed to do this. So, as always, leave a review and count on more chapters. I won't be able to work on anything for a week because I'm spending time with family. Thank you!

Question of the day: If you do, what is your favorite video game as of today? If you don't game but want to, what would be your first game to play?

Mine? Psh, Portal 2 all the way.

Over and out!


	2. Chapter 2

Alright, let's get this show on the road.

Raphael's POV

She went absolutely still, her breathing seemed to stop all together. I looked around at her face, and laughed inwardly. He eyes were huge, with large pupils to match. Her mouth hung open slightly, like a slightly opened door. She stayed like this for only a couple of seconds, until she realized that staring at aliens still crossed the borderlines of rude.

"So." She looked up at me, one eyebrow up. "THIS is what Fowler meant about a lot changing."

I minutely flinched on the inside. She never really did take in huge amounts of change very well. But before I could explain, Bumblebee shot out a few words to Optimus. My sister pinched the bridge of her nose, then gently hoisted me off her shoulders. "You're right. We shouldn't be out here for longer than we have to. Raphael, you can introduce me to everyone once we're at base, okay?"

I let out my breath. So she can also understand him. One less person to be confused by auditory code. I hopped into Bumblebee, and watched Eliza board Optimus, who had already transformed. I could hear her over the comm-link. "How long have you been here?" Optimus replied, "Quite some time, though with our enemy this close we can never enjoy this planet longer than what's safe. I am Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots. Raphael has been expecting you for a while." I could almost hear Eliza smile through her link. "So have I. Though you seem friendly enough, I wish Fowler had told me what to expect. My brother making friends? Normal. Giant alien friends, now that's something I would never have guessed." Her voice cleared, "All the same, it's an honor to meet you. Welcome to Earth."

Eliza's POV

The base was only ten minutes away, and soon everyone was entering the large sandstone tower. Upon entry, I saw the helicopter perched on top. Fowler. So he won't tell me what to expect in my week of release processing (it took at least a week to be released due to everything else being much more important), but he would tell me on foreign territory with my little brother suddenly involved with government matters. The gentle slope of the driveway jerked me from my thoughts, suddenly taking in the enormous space inside the mountain. Lined with monitors, catwalks, and a small entertainment center for the humans, this place was decently sized. Especially for giant bipedal robots. Fowler was standing in the catwalk, behind him the entrance to the elevator. Optimus slowly stopped, and opened the door for me to get out. The others were already in their bipedal forms, and waiting for Optimus to speak. Suddenly, Fowler piped in.

"Well Esquivel? Not quite the welcome committee you expected, huh?"

I looked up at him, making sure to keep a straight face. "Of course, sir. I'm just glad that the 'enemy' wasn't part of it. Which reminds me," I turn to Raphael, "I would like a full explanation. Facts. Details. Theme. Settings. Plot. Condense. Tell. Now."

Raph cleared his throat, and Jack and Miko came over to join him. Oh boy, this was gonna be a long one.

"It all started with Jack. He met Arcee," he pointed to the female Autobot, with blue and pink armor," in the parking lot of KO Burger. He pretended it was his motorcycle so that he could impress someone, I dont know. Anyway, some Cons suddenly found Arcee, so she had to take off. WITH HIM. Long story short, they met and he nearly had a brain hemorrhage. Miko found Jack and Arcee in an alleyway as Arcee told him how crucial it was to make sure not to blow her cover. I was found last, and-"

She stopped him there. "One, catch your breath. Two, you were racing your RC car near the freeway again, weren't you?" Raphael looked down, which basically meant yes. "Fine," she said, waving her hand, "continue."

"Ok, I found out about them when Arcee led the Cons to that part of the freeway. She needed backup, so Bulkhead," he pointed to the the green SUV, "and Bumblebee," he then motioned to a yellow and black scout, the one who talked in code, "came and messed them up. Bumblebee gave me a ride after school the next day, and we've been working with them ever since. This," he showed me the red and white mech, slightly smaller than Optimus, "is Ratchet, the medic. He's dealt with us since day 1."

He looked my way, his eyes slightly narrowing.

"CMO, huh? You've got some patience dealing with this thing." I grabbed Raphael, rubbing his hair.

He smiled, "Sometimes I wish I could just melt 'em down. Drive me up the wall sometimes." I laughed, letting Raphael go. "I'll make sure I'm not a problem, then."

"Elizabeth," Fowler stated, "I would also like to bring forward the fact that you don't know any of the Decepticons, do you?"

I shook my head. "No sir. Are they the enemy Optimus mentioned earlier?"

In response, Ratchet pulled up a picture of three bots. One was slender, with large wings on his back. Missiles seemed to don his arms. The second, a powerful-looking mech, was built strongly, but his figure had an essence of...evil. The third was plainly built, and seemed to have no face at all. I mean, he had a head, but there just was no...face. Eyes, mouth...not there. Optimus spoke up.

"These are the First, Second, and Third in command aboard the ship Nemesis. In their army lay an unnameable number of Vehicons. These are simply mass-made soldiers, and they pose no real threat as they are easy to take down. These three, however..." He motioned to the center one. "This one is Megatron, the leader of the Decepticons. His sole objective: to destroy humans in search of Energon, and quite possibly a means to revive our home planet, Cybertron. This one," He pointed to the one on the left, "is second in command."

"Is this one a female?" I ask, observing the frame of the robot. Silence ensued, followed by Bumblebee suddenly bursting into laughter.

"What? What did I say?" I felt completely confused. Only then did Bumblebee explain inbetween bouts of uncontainable laughter. I stared at him blankly, which made him laugh even harder.

"Yes, the Second in Command is a mech, or 'male' as you humans call it. But he is just as dangerous, not to mention unpredictable. His name is Starscream. As for this one," he pointed to the one on the right, "this is a mech named Soundwave. Though he is rarely seen in battle, he has a spy that gathers information for Megatron. It's name is Laserbeak."

I nodded, writing this all down in my head. "Are there any others besides the ones here?"

"There is Knockout and Breakdown, however they have not shown themselves to be trouble yet." Optimus ststed, closing the images on the monitor. "However, keep in mind that, whatever happens, never let them get a hold of you."

"I won't" I looked at Raphael, who was sitting on Bumblebee's shoulder. I sighed, and realized that I was tired.

"You need a ride home?" Bumblebee asked, in code. I nodded, rubbing my eyes. "I'd hate to bother you."

I turned to the others. "It was really nice to meet you all. I I am sure to try and help in any way I can. Just make sure to ask me first." Raphael gave me a puzzled look, "Wont you be at the base with us?"

I shook my head, "I may be out of the Army, Raph, but there's still some work I need to take care of. Filing, spreadsheets, finding a job. Until i am stable enough to have an income again, I'll be at the house for a while." I put my hand on his shoulder (he had hopped off of Bumblebee's shoulder at this point) "I would love to help you, but I'm not out of it yet. I still need to tell..." I trailed off, my chest becoming heavy.

"Oh. Okay then. I'll come with you. Bumblebee?"

The scout transformed and opened the door for us. As I climbed in, he chirped " Tell who, by the way?"

I didn't answer. I was already asleep.

Well, I am typing this on my phone. I can't tell how long this thing is. One thousand, two thousand words? I'm sorry for such short chapters, but I promise to keep up with them. Hey, I may not be the best but even I know how to do story structure.

As Always, Over and Out!


	3. Chapter 3

Before we begin, I just wanted to say how happy I am with how well-received this is becoming. So in response I have decided to keep posting a chapter a day/every two days. I hate cliff hangers as much as you guys do, so I wont stop. As always, I don't own Transformers or Hasbro. Only OC. Enjoy!

I was walking. The buildings beside me, lined with marble and steel and numerous glass panes, shone in the afternoon sun. Trees lined the sidewalks, the leaves green and waxy. As I stood under one, a single leaf broke free and floated down. I caught it in my hand, it's deep green hue still with it.

But the leaf suddenly shriveled up, browning and blackening until it crumbled away to dust. I looked up at the tree to see that all the other leaves were also disintegrating, along with the trunk of the tree peeling and blackening. It was like a poisonous cloud, as everything gradually turned sour around me. The drinking fountain rusted up, the water pipe explosively severing itself. the water that sprayed everywhere was green and black. I backed away from everything, when I felt something behind me. I slowly turned around, to see it. The large jaws filled with knife-like teeth. The hideous black body. And no eyes.

I stood fixed to the spot, unable to move. The creature came towards me, the jaws once again hungry for flesh. It pounced right in front of me, inhaling a deep, raspy inhale. I cringed, not sure how I was going to survive this one. Then, it roared.

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BE-"

SLAM.

I awoke sharply, my heart racing at a million miles an hour. Raphael was getting up from bed. The alarm clock on his nightstand had reset itself. I brushed my hair from my forehead, trying to calm my pulse. It was another dream. Different place, but the same dream. I yawned, and stretched until my back cracked. I sighed and looked out, the morning sun warming my face. Today was a beautiful day with big puffy clouds floating across a deep blue sky. But first thing's first. I got out of my sleeping bag to take a shower, then changed into a dark grey t-shirt and some jean shorts that reached just above my knee. After combing my hair, I went downstairs for breakfast. Raphael was already there, munching on a bowl of cornflakes.

"Morning. You look like you've seen a ghost. Did you sleep okay last night?" I shrugged, finding a ceramic bowl in the cupboard, and fetching some milk from the fridge. "I just had a bad dream, though I don't know why. I didn't wake you up, right?"

He shook his head, chewing and swallowing before he spoke, "You did talk a little bit, but nothing bad. Are those normal?" I played with my cereal, "Well, yes and no. Truth is, I haven't been sleeping well at all for the last few months." Raph knitted his eyebrows, stirring his cereal more, "What dreams do you have? Nightmares?"

Before I could answer, I heard a quick beep-beep from outside. Raph jumped down, putting his cereal bowl in the sink and grabbing his backpack. "Well, I'm off. See you later, sis!" I smiled, and waved to Bumblebee. I watched him pull out of the driveway, and take off. Him and Bumblebee must be really good friends.

I emptied the remnants of breakfast and made my way down the hall to the garage door. Unlocking it, I flinched at the lights as I flicked them on. I forgot how bright they were. Among boxes of tools and old junk, there it sat.

My motorcycle.

I received it on my 15th birthday, and I loved it to death. I would give my brother rides to school, do grocery runs, you name it. It was a Honda, model CBR250R with a custom black and purple paint job. I cautiously got on it, pulling in the stand. I put in the key and started the motor.

Like a charm.

I zipped along the streets, then made my way out into the open. God, to go at unhealthy speeds on a smooth road was something else. I cruised like that for a good half-hour, finding road after road to ride. Finally, the heat was getting to me. I turned back, retracing my steps until I saw KO Burger. I saw people in line for KO Burger. I stopped in the parking lot, staring at the empty space.

So this I where it all went down, huh? The faded, worn-down asphalt seemed to hold no actual significance aside from the fact that there was a candy wrapper sitting near the curb adjacent to it. Well, theres more to this than meets the eye. I wonder if that quote will ever be used in the future...

Whatever. I zoomed out of the parking lot and headed back home. There were things I had to take care of. Papers to sign and file, and the newspaper at home hasn't been read yet. I rode home, the noon sun beating down on my back. A lot of time passes when you're dwelling on things that you shouldn't.

Knockout's POV

Just great. Not only did Starscream manage to get himself scrapped up again, but this time he managed to do it when there were NO AUTOBOT SIGHTINGS. According to him he accidentally ran into a rock formation while out on patrol. I swear if he wasn't second in command I would have-

The pneumatic hiss of a door rocked me from my thoughts as Lord Megatron entered my office. Starscream was lying on the table, his chestplates scratched to the point where you could literally see his insides.

"This seems to be your place of interest Starscream. With you bumbling around like this, we will never find the Autobots in time." He turns to me, "How long will it take for him to recover?" I turned towards our leader, motioning to his chest. "He has major injuries to his upper torso, dangerously close to his spark chamber. I'm afraid the fastest I can work is in the time frame of a week or so. That includes recovery time."

Megatron, seeming pleased with what I reported, left the room with a, "I will let you continue then." I returned to Starscream, his vital stats somewhat normal. I crossed my arms, taking a deep breath before returning to fixing his insides. Primus, I need a BREAK. All I've done besides try to steal the Energon Harvester is fix broken soldiers and do routine patrol missions. I only get to recharge for only a few hours a night before a night patrol gets dented. Then it's back to work. Again.

Breakdown came in the room with two cups of Energon. "Thanks," I said as he offered me one, "I need this." He sat in a chair in the corner, organizing my tools in vitality order.

"I noticed. You've done nothing but work for twenty hours a cycle for these past couple weeks. I've been on patrols, but I get a full recharge time. You," he motioned to me with his free finger, as his other was busy lining up the tools, "the only medic on this ship, can't even get half recharged. It's like you live on liquid Energon rather than replenishing it naturally." I shrug, sipping the Energon. With each one, I feel a whirr of energy, like a gentle hum. The thing with Energon, you can't drink it too fast. Otherwise, you get powered up so fast that you might become jittery for the rest of the cycle.

"Well, at least I'm doing something. I hate being bored, especially when there's always an opportunity to destroy our enemy. They are just out of our grasp, and all we need is to find their base. After that, it's show time." I clicked the valve into place, stopping the flow of leaking Energon. There, now Starscream will wake up on his own. Honestly I don't want him to wake up but hey, what would I do without my number one patient?

I checked the time. Seven o'clock Earth time. With everything under control, I guess I can take a recharge now. I put my instruments away, putting the used ones in the decontamination chamber to use later. "You coming, Breakdown? I don't want to lock you in here with Screamer, for your own sake." Breakdown came out of the room, and I turned off the lights. Already the thought of recharge made my optic-lids heavy. After signing out, I made my way to my room.

The walls were plastered numerous diagrams and maps. A desk was shoved in the corner, with a small lamp fixed on the wall above it. Besides these belongings, there was nothing else. I turned to my vehicle mode, my tires sinking into the metal floor. As I shut down into Sleep Mode, the echo of the night patrol taking off rolled through my cabin, all the more helping me fall down the pit of welcoming darkness.

(From Author)

Knockout is introduced for the first time! Now, I'm going to do a little trick. I'm going to put this in Doc Manager, and if it has less words than Chapter 2 then I will type more.

TO THE FUTURE!


	4. Chapter 4

Well, as always, I don't own Transformers. Only OC.

I unstuck my t-shirt from my back for the fifteenth time. On my desk sat numerous papers, signed and ready to be filed. A coffee mug filled with pencils, pens and some chewing gum sat on the corner, next to a desktop lamp. The pencil in my hand tapped the paper, the tip making small dots. A small clock on my desk slowly clicked on, each minute passing marking another shift on the minute hand.

I had nothing. No matter how much I emptied my mind, nothing would show. I needed to write an explanation for why I chose to be on leave. After twenty minutes of sitting, pacing, doodling, I came up with nothing. I sighed as I pushed the blank papers away, stretching in my chair. Glancing at the clock, my stomach rumbled in a low tone. One twenty-seven...I should eat something. I got out of my chair, walking down the stairs to the kitchen. I quickly found some peanut butter, and I found myself with a peanut butter sandwich in no time. After half the sandwich was halfway demolished and I was about to attack an apple, my phone went off. Checking the screen, I saw that Raphael's number showed up. He was over at the base, as far as I knew, and had no reason whatsoever to be calling me. I even told him what I was doing before he left with Bumblebee. I picked up on the third ring.

"Hello?" I answered. A panicked voice was on the other line.

"Eliza! Um, what are you doing right now?" I smiled, "I'm trying to discover the meaning of the universe and experimenting with liquid uranium." "ELIZA!" I rolled my eyes, swallowing a bite of apple, "I'm at home, having lunch. Why?"

"We need your help. We went on a routine patrol and we got company. Bumblebee has no communications, he's down!"

Oh no. I got up, leaving the food on the table. Grabbing my keys and my helmet, I made my way to the garage. "Don't worry, Raph. I'll be right there. Who else is with you? Arcee?" I heard a small 'uh-huh' through the speaker, "But she can't fight forever. There's too many!" "I asked him what his coordinates were, and he gave them to me all too gladly. Revving the engine, I sped through the streets fast enough to earn at least eight speeding tickets. If only they knew what was going down right now...

Knockout's POV

I felt a stinging pain in my left side. The glitch certainly knew how to land a shot. I ran towards her, my buzz-saw activated. I landed a strong punch to her face, and I watched her fly a few steps back. How long was she going to fight like this? Even she must know that she didn't have long. Not to mention her comm-system was eradicated and her partner struck down. I smiled as she struggled to get up, her arm trying to raise for a plasma cannon shot. I merely batted it aside, and kicked her in the chest. She fell on her back, sprawled out on all fours. And to think this was just a routine mission.

Megatron asked me to follow the night patrol from the ground, to see what they ran into all these nights. For the first few hours there was no sign of anything until we found it. A relic.

It was something to behold, but we didn't exactly know what it was. Nonetheless we tried to bring it back to base, but the Autobots had the same idea. And so the fighting began. I put my foot on the femme to keep her down, and I leaned towards her. "Well, this is a tragic turn of events, now isn't it? Too bad it's only one sided..." I pointed my Energon Prod and held it right above her face, her eyes staring at me with seething anger. "Nothing personal; I just love to play with my prey." I raised my Prod and prepared to shove it in her chest when-

"Knockout! We have trouble!" I growled, activating my response comm link "Oh what is it?" "It's a human, sir. She's...she's already taken down two of us!" My eyes widened, and I turned to where the Vehicons were posted. There was something definitely going on, and the dust was rising. I took a piece of shrapnel, bent it into a U shape, and thrust it upon the femme. Now trapped, she weakly tried to push it off. "I will deal with you later." I went into my vehicle mode and drove as fast as I could. Even halfway there I witnessed one of the strangest things.

It was a human, and it was on a spree. Move after move, she dodged all of the impending laser blasts. Even at such close range she wasn't hit. I sped up, making sure I could make her flee. She kept fighting, however, and soon she broke free from the frenzy and made her way towards the relic. "Oh no you don't," I warned, speeding towards the figure, "that relic is MINE."

We were neck to neck, both speeding for the relic. I tried tripping it over, and it tried to run into me. The relic was getting closer and closer by the second, and we were in no condition to slow down. Slow down...I smiled. This will be fun.

Eliza's POV

It was like the shell-storms back in the battlefield all over again. Except these were a lot more deadly and these knew where you were going to go. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Raph next to Bumblebee, trying to wake him up. Raph saw me, and pointed desperately to a strange looking thing on the ground two hundred feet away from him. Of course. These two weren't ambushed as I previously thought. They were both after something. A relic.

Optimus had explained to me one day when I went to the base with Raph. Each relic was extremely dangerous, but granted the user a powerful upper hand in battle, no matter what class it was. They had already experienced the Forge of Solus Prime and an Energon shield. They could never tell which relic they were going to find next, and this one was no exception. Either way, I had to retrieve it. I put more on the accelerator, and I felt the speed as I zoomed towards it. Then, a blood-red sports car followed fifty feet away. Oh great. Company. Bring it then, I thought as I saw my speedometer creep up to one hundred, I can take you and your posse any day.

He was tied up with me, trying to steer me off. He scalded my tires and bumped into me with a sharp drift to the right. I felt it only fair. I flipped out my knife and, holding it out, made a long peeling scratch on his right side. That did it. He revved and tossed to the right, knocking my motorcycle too much. I strained to keep it steady, my balance too far to the right. In my attempt to stay on course, he had used the advantage to speed ahead of me and go into his bipedal mode. I saw him grab the relic, and with a smirk that made my blood boil, he stood in front of my path. I would crash into him if I didn't get out of the way...

I slowed down, the tires squealing in protest as I skid to a stop. The Decepticon ran to me, and before I could run from his hand he had picked me up, and squeezed his fist shut. I struggled against the giant metal digits, only to have them grow tighter and tighter. Only then did I look up into the delighted eyes of my enemy.

He had a white face-plate, with blood-red eyes like his Deepticon counterparts. His design was sleek and fast, a European design. The spot where I scratched his paint stood out pretty well, the dull metal frame showing. He stared at me with a calm, contained anger. No, impatience. Like I was a child. As I jerked around in his grasp, he spoke.

Knockout's POV

I felt my barely contained anger cracking through the barrier. Not only had she scratched the paint, but she went right into the frame. I'll never be able to get rid of it no matter how hard I try! She squirmed around in my hand, feebly trying to escape. I didn't recognize her, though I felt that I should. She had long blond hair, and medium-fair skin. her frame was medium, but she was strongly built. Her mouth was twisted in her efforts to escape, and her eyes a deep brown. Like the small human...

It hit me. This one and the small, young boy were related. They had to be. I raised her up to my eye level, and looked at the eyes closely. Yes, the shade was identical. She stared right at me, with a look that would have had me sent to the Pit. I smiled at her frustration. How cute. This one had fire.

"You're a new one, aren't you?" I asked, squeezing until I heard her squeak. She glared at me. "You know, I usually don't waste my time for humans like you. But because you took your time to ruin my paint, I'll make an exception." I took a finger and scratched her face, leaving a thin line from her temple to the corner of her mouth. She bit her lip, bashing her fists against my hand. How pitiful.

Elizabeth's POV

He slowly made a long scratch, the blood already flowing. His smile drove me up the wall. I tried hitting his fingers with my fists, but all he did was lower his eyelids. Oh, he is so in for it now. I relaxed, feeling my knife up my sleeve. Here goes nothing. I looked up at him, my eyebrows knitted. "You've got some nerve." He merely laughed, lifting me even higher. "You're related to the little human pet, right? Bumblebee's little one? So who owns you? Maybe...Optimus?" I felt the tip of my knife against my bent wrist. All I needed was him to squeeze me again. Just one more time. "I don't belong to anybody. And Raphael isn't a pet. He's my brother. And you're a nasty piece of work." He narrowed his eyes at me. "Careful what you say, girl. It may be the last thing you will ever say." I see. He's not threatening me because I'm with the Autobots. He's angry because of the scratch I gave him. I shifted, feeling his fingers steadily holding me tight. "No, if anything, this is." I took a deep breath, "YOU ARE A PIECE OF RUSTY, DIRTY, GODFORSAKEN SCRAP METAL."

That did it. He squeezed me so hard I couldn't breathe. NOW! I grabbed my knife and thrust it into his index finger, driving it all the way in. He howled, and let go of me and the relic. I jumped and rolled on the ground, scrambling to avoid his footsteps. Grabbing my motorcycle and the relic, I started the engine and bolted to a nearby rock formation. Almost instantly the Decepticon followed behind. I flipped my phone open and called the base. "Hello?" I heard Ratchet on the other line. "Ratchet, no time to explain. Arcee and Bumblebee are down, and Raph's out in the battlefield. We need a bridge, NOW."

Almost ten seconds after I hung up, a space bridge opened, with Bulkhead and Optimus racing out. The red one, still following me, gave one last effort to cut me off by shooting at my tires. Dodging them, I yelled behind my back, I yelled, "That all you got Zippy? Too bad your looks don't match your bite!" He responded by shooting at my head level. He clipped my helmet, the shock surging through the metal frame. I grunted in my throat as the energy surged in my helmet, fuzzing up my vision.

"My NAME is KNOCKOUT. And I REFUSE to be beaten by the likes. Of. YOU." But before he could do any more damage, he became quite busy with Bulkhead. To my right, another space bridge opened, and the Vehicons made their escape. Knockout, much to his dismay, cut his vengeful chase short by retreating to the space bridge. Before entering the bluish-green portal, he became bipedal and turned to me. He shot me a look of pure hatred, sending a chill down my spine. After three seconds of staring, he turned and ran into the portal. I breathed a sigh of relief, feeling for the relic strapped to my back. Optimus and Bulkhead carried Arcee and Bumblebee to the bridge, while Raphael ran towards me. I hugged him, letting him wrap his legs around my waist so he could be picked up. I mounted him on, and with one last look behind us we made our way into the Space Bridge. Even then, even after I explained everything to Ratchet and I gave the full story to Miko and Jack, and even when I was detailing the motorcycle back at home, with Raph watching the TV, I still felt it. That stare of vengeance.

No. The fight wasn't over.

First encounters! This one was completely fun to write, especially when I got to stage the dialogue for Knockout. As always, please leave a review and expect chapters for the future!

Over and Out!


	5. Chapter 5

As always, I don't own Transformers.

Elizabeth's POV

Okay. Lets try this again.

I stood up, relaxing my shoulders and circling my head in a neck stretch. The stuffed dummy sat ten feet away, the Sharpie'd face showing a dull blankness. Slowly, I stepped towards the dummy, making my steps as quiet as my weight would allow. Step by step, I inched towards it. ONce I was a foot away, I stopped and put my right foot behind me, and bent my left knee. In one motion, I drew out a kick to the head. It sent the dummy flying to the left a few inches. I rolled to the left, and did a roundhouse kick to the abdomen. Kick, punch, dodge, tackle, jump, disarm. Finally, after ten minutes of intense dummy punching, the timer went off. There goes my session.

In the Army, you don't have stuffed flour sacks to fight. Usually, whether it's over an argument or a game of chicken, your fellow soldiers were there. I fought almost everyone in my unit, for an exceptional few. I almost never fought recruits, but I never backed down to a fight. One learns how to land a hit with five years on you.

Back then the family wasn't doing so well. To help with the income, I sent myself off to serve when I was fifteen. My family was completely against it, an there was always the chance that I wouldn't make it. But it had to be done, for the family's sake. I never finished high school, leaving me with only my time in deployment to serve as something to get me jobs. Once the family was stable again, I had the choice to come back home or stay for another couple years. I had made friends, made enemies, and traveled all over place. I faced my parents with my final choice. I wished to stay. I couldn't leave yet. Sure it was hell, but this hell could be made better. I taught the recruits, I learned from the veterans, and I taught myself many things I would have never learned in the classroom.

I put on my uniform, green and starchy. The belt, the hat, the cuffs. I tied my boots all the way up, and tied the scarf around my neck. On a chair next to me sat a military hat, faded blue, numerous pins, and a folded american flag. I sighed. This was going to be difficult. I picked up the flag and hugged it to my chest. Out of all people, I had to go and tell. My partner. Mon partenaire...

He died a soldiers death, though so unexpectedly. As his partner, it was my job to tell his family what had happened to him, and give him his hat. The rest was reused for other soldiers or as memoirs for his resting place. I felt a single tear fall, and I wiped it away in haste. No. Don't you dare relish in it now. You cried for three nights after the raid. You have to stay strong. For his mother. For him.

I mounted the motorcycle, and started the engine. For a second I thought to stay home and avoid going at all. But I have to, I reminded myself, tucking the flag in the storage compartment below the seat, she will feel just as bad as you do. I made my way down the road and on the freeway, the numerous cars shrouding my small vehicle in their rush-hour worries. But I stayed solemn, and took the third exit down. It didn't take long to find his house. His mother always decorated her front yard with a lavish garden, seemingly impossible for such a dry place. And yet here it was, with her apple tree blossoming and her squash plants giving out five per day.

Mrs. Bonvier was an elegant woman, tall and thin like many French women of her stature. She enjoyed numerous activities, such as gardening, knitting, and being told the latest news from her home country. She had given my partner his numerous traits, with the curly brown hair and bright, curious eyes. She had only heard about me through her numerous letters with my partner, and she talked with me a few times through a TrenChat. She was definitely a wonderful lady.

I walked up the stairs, the flag in my hands. I didn't know what she would do when I told her. Cry? Yell? Run off? I took a deep breath as I knocked on the door, the wind chimes behind me tinkling in the morning breeze. She answered, her hair in a beautiful high bun, and she wore a flowing red blouse and brown canvas shorts. Before she even said hello, she saw the flag in my hands, her face drained of any color in there.

I didn't even have to say a word.

Knockout's POV

I sat on the edge of a cliff, the trees bending to a soft wind from the east. The sun was getting low, the colors of the horizon staining the deep blue sky. I haven't been off the Nemesis in so long I had forgotten about the sunsets. A bird landed in the tree I was leaning back on, t's mottled brown wings fluttering for balance.

Why can't I stop? It's been two days since the encounter with that human, and yet it's all I can think about. The patrols miraculously stopped running into things, and Starscream finally recovered from that run-in with a giant rock. I no longer was in high demand. I became well-rested, and became bored with the daily ship scene, so I started to go out on nightly excursions. I found this beautiful spot under gunfire, but I decided to return one night after a few cosmetic appointments for the Vehicons. I have to admit, this planet DOES have its perks. The only bad thing was the humans.

There it goes again. The scene replayed in my mind. The fight with the Arcee, the human gaining on the relic, the stab in the finger. All of it. The human...intrigued me. She wasn't as helpless as the others, as she seemed to hold her own against us just fine. Almost as if she had fought us before. I reviewed a picture of the girl, the features now all too familiar. The blond hair, the sharp profile, the angry look in her eyes. Then, I saw something rather unusual. A small mark on her shoulder. Like an ink mark. I zoomed in, and laid out the design. A crest of some sort? I requested the World Wide Web, looking for matches. I came across a seal for the U.S military. Ah, of course. She was in an army of her own! I grimaced at the photo of her again. But that still means that she's with the Autobots. Another, tougher problem to deal with. And this one doesn't scream in terror. It gave me joy to have my enemies scream in their final moments; it gave me a sense of power. But this one...she wouldn't have been scared if I tied her up and threatened to step on her. I sighed in frustration as I picked up a stick nearby. Funny how a new problem can interest and confuse you at the same time.

Eliza's POV

It was early afternoon by the time I left the house. Four hours worth of crying, hugging, talking, and drinking countless cups of tea. She told me how his life was before the war, and how happy he sounded in his letters. I simply agreed with her and nodded, not daring to bring up how he died. I merely told her that he had died fighting, and that there was nothing else more honorable than that. She thanked me for coming over and being a friend, not simply sending a letter to say that he was gone. I understood why she thanked me. I wouldn't forgive them if my loved one would die, only to be given a sparse letter, stating in a blank careless monotone that he died. Before I left, she gave me numerous items, including two loaves of her famous bread and a case of raspberry macaroons. She took the flag, and with my help we set it up on her wall, among pictures of my partner when he was younger. The largest photo was him in his uniform, staring at the camera with a mild authority. She waved goodbye as I started the engine, my gifts packed safely in the rear compartment. And, with a final salute, I took off for the main highway.

The ride was short, rush-hour nearly gone. I walked my motorcycle into the garage, my parents waiting for me. I made my way to my room, and crashed on the bed. I let my mind wander, and suddenly found myself thinking of that last battle with Knockout.

He was certainly the character, if not one of the most eccentric people I had ever met. I could still feel his stare of cold hate run into my skull. His blood red paint shining in the sunlight. The sleek design of his vehicle mode. The evil grin he made when he nearly crushed my lungs into a pulp.

I opened my eyes, and saw a blank piece of paper lying in my printer. I got up, taking a sharpened pencil out of the mug and a book to use as a desk. On the blank page, I started to make lines, curves, spikes and shades. I tried to remember every detail of his alt-mode. The way the wheels stuck out of his back, how his crest was swooped, how sharp his hands were. Line by line, I recreated the bot completely from memory. Finally, I stopped when the body was basically complete The only parts left were the eyes. Sure, he stared at me for a good three seconds, but I was quite a ways away. No matter how much I tried to remember, I couldn't think of what his eyes looked like. I noticed that nearly everyone in Team Prime had a different eye design, so not everyone had the same layout. I huffed as I put the drawing down, the paper sliding off the book and onto the floor. I stared at it for a good ten seconds. What had driven me to draw him? I did hate him, but for some reason he seemed...interesting. His personality was definitely something else. Not to mention his voice. I never knew someone could be programmed with a voice like that. It sounded...crazy. In a good way. Good crazy. I face-palmed myself, shaking my head. No, no,no. Don't do this. He's the ENEMY. He nearly killed you, remember? The next time he confronts you, he'll probably try to kill you again. And the next time too. I took a macaroon from the bag and bit into it, the creamy filling bursting on my tongue. I wonder, I thought as I chewed the macaroon, is he thinking about me too? I looked at my tattoo, the black ink still loud and proud against my skin.

Why would he?

I honestly couldn't think of anything today, so I came up with a filler. I can't tell you who her partner was, yet, but I promise not such a boring chapter next time, okay? I seriously couldn't think of anything happening that wouldn't make the clock of this story move WAY too fast. As always, please leave a review and await more chapters!

Over and Out!


	6. Chapter 6

In the last chapter, pretty much nothing happened and Eliza drew a picture. And so it continues.

I don't own Transformers or Hasbro.

"So, do we have any idea what to expect when we get there?"

I tightened my grip on the accelerator. Arcee switched gears as we entered open road. "Not a clue, Eliza. We're just going to have to wing it at this one. And it doesn't help that we have basically NO IDEA what the relic you found was."

I muttered in agreement. We had tried poking, twisting, and even at one point (Bumblebee got really frustrated) kicking the damned thing to see what it did. It didn't look like much, like a staff of some sorts. Even Optimus and Rachet couldn't define it's purpose. Miko tried to drag it around, but it was too big. Funny to watch, though.

To get our minds off of it, Arcee suggested that I come with her for patrol. We were near the edge of a large canyon when she suddenly received a very large Energon pulse. She insisted we follow it.

I scanned the horizon, the late afternoon sun casting long shadows as we sped along the road. "We're almost there." Arcee perked up, "How did you know?" I closed my eyes, feeling the smooth road beneath me. "I can tell. I don't think we're the only ones who found that signal, Arcee, it's a little powerful."

No sooner had I said that when two cars appeared in the distance. I knew the paint too well. Vehicons. "Well would you look at that. We've got friends!" Arcee sped up, and I rolled my wrist into the accelerator. "Let's scrap 'em."

Arcee went into bipedal mode and was running along with my motorcycle. The Vehicons had also transformed, and were making their way towards us. Arcee shot out her plasma cannons, and started shooting. I sped up my bike, zooming past them. I soon got a look at what the relic was. A dark canister, seeping what looked like red fluid. I held back the gag reflex as the smell of the thing drifted by. God, what was IN that? Swallowing the bile that had collected in my throat, I sped towards the canister, preparing to grab it. My finger almost touched it when a sudden lurch pulled me out of its reach. My motorcycle flipped, and like an idiot I hung on for dear life. Over and over it went, scraping my motorcycle jacket and a good layer of skin off my back. Just when it started to sting did I realize that I should let go. I tumbled off the machine, hearing it get father away with each tumble of my own. Finally, I came to a stop, sore and battered all over. My ears were ringing, and my sight was painfully fuzzy. I felt shockwaves coming through the ground, like...footsteps. The exact moment I registered what they were, a plasma blast landed right next to me. I flinched away, only to feel the heat of another blast singe the hair on my arms. I scrambled to get up, my feet tripping over invisible stones as I struggled to see what was in front of me. A plasma blast landed in front of me, and I fell on my back. And then I heard it.

Laughter.

HIS laughter.

I grit my teeth. Not you again, I thought, as I felt for my knife. My heart skipped a beat when I felt nothing in my sleeve pocket. I glanced over to my right, seeing the glint of the hilt among my trashed ride. I slowly got to my feet, only to feel suddenly dizzy. I fell back down, which blossomed into another peal of laughter.

"Such a shame. You're disoriented. You don't even know where I am, much less where you are." Two sharp points pinched my ankle, and I was lifted upside-down into the air. Spinning around, I saw the ground bend and wobble underneath me. I groaned as I felt my head, a large cut seeping blood on my temple. I had just gotten my stitches out for the one he gave me LAST time. Holding the wound so it would lessen the bleeding, I glared up at the red and white mass, hardly able to distinguish anything. "You know, you look a lot better from this angle."

Knockout's POV

I held her by her feet, smiling in enjoyment. The human didn't even have the bearings to look at me. She arched her head up, and glared at me with hateful eyes. The look seemed natural for her. I guess it made sense, since she was in the human military and all. I tightened my fingers, watching the small trickle of blood run from her ankle to her thigh. If I couldn't make her scream, then this would have to do. Her eyes rolled back into her head, then suddenly focused on me. "You look a lot better from this angle."

I blinked. What? I looked better from that angle? I lifted her up to my face, observing her eyes. The brown pools were rolling everywhere, and they weren't focused. Of course. Not only had I shot her senses, she had become delusional. I shook her a little bit, of where she laughed in delight. LAUGHED. I felt my temple pulse. This human had not screamed in terror or passed out. She had lost all sense of reality. I turned her over, her face blood red from being upside down for too long. She stood up on my palm, and then I got a full view of her. Her figure was strong and medium-built, and her hair was a mess of blond. It reached all the way down to her waist. Her back was showing, the skin dirty and raw from the fall she took. Her face was...tired. Like she never slept.

She stumbled around my hand, using my fingers for support. Her knees buckled in, so she landed on her front fours. Then, with a swift look upward, she looked at me. An unexplainable surge of shock ran through my back, down to my feet. I stared back, and for a couple seconds, time slowed down. Her face changed, from sleepy to confused. Then, her eyes slowly widened as she tightened her grip on my palm. Her breathing became heavier, and her eyes dilated.

She woke up.

Eliza's POV

I felt it. The shock that ran through him when I looked into his blood-red eyes. Something about those eyes made me feel...warm. What? I suddenly felt the ringing in my ears stop, my vision coming back to normal. I felt the coolness of the ground under me. That wasn't dirt. That was metal. I saw a weld-mark on a pillar next to me. It looked like a puncture wound. On a pillar...

I snapped out of it, realizing where I was. I looked up at the eyes again, confirming my fears. I had been caught. Knockout, his palm open, was staring at me with half-lidded eyes. Upon realizing that I snapped out of it, he tried closing his hand. I squeezed out his fist, rolling on the ground. He kept looking at me wordlessly, as if he was speechless. I turned and ran towards Arcee, who had defeated the last of the Vehicons and had grabbed the relic. With a quick *beep-beep* she rolled towards me. I took one last glance at the Decepticon, unsure of what to say. He seemed just as shocked as I was. When Arcee was near,I started to run, her slowing down to my pace. I hopped on the seat, hugging the relic balanced on the handlebars. Knockout, having transformed, stayed close to us. "Give me back my relic, girl, or I'll shoot you BOTH off the ground!" I hugged the relic tighter, and eyed his windshield. "My name is Elizabeth, KNOCKOUT. And make sure to use it in the future because I sure as HELL won't be called 'girl' by someone like YOU." A space bridge appeared towards our path, making Arcee go even faster. I gave Knockout one last glare, making sure to put every ounce of hatred, fire and steam into it. And as soon as the bridge had appeared, he was gone.

The base was brimming with curiosity, and Ratchet was amazed that Arcee had come back without nearly ANY injuries. Ms. Darby made me sit down, applying gauze and antiseptic to my back and applied liquid stitches to my forehead. I shut my eyes tight and clenched my teeth at the stinging, then sighed as the gauze pressured the wound. Raphael sat next to me, cross-legged.

"Are you going to be okay? How long will it take for your back to heal? Who hurt you? Where's your bike?" I chuckled at his rapid fire. "I'll be fine, it's only going to be a giant scar. It'll take me a week, a few days at least. Knockout threw me from my bike by shooting up the tire. The bike..." I felt my gut clench. My bike was a scrap heap in the middle of God knows where. I could find it, but the parts weren't salvageable. It was gone. I swallowed as Ms. Darby bandaged my upper arm, covering the cut with more antiseptic. After she was finished, I thanked her for her work. She smiled and laughed, and told me to take care of myself. I merely shrugged. What's to do in a war? Kindergarten?

Knockout's POV

The Autobot was gone in an instant, the human with her. I stood alone in the emptiness, taking in the wreckage around me. I spotted a purple mass to my right, too small to be a Vehicon. Upon closer inspection, I recognized the model and make. It was Elizabeth's motorcycle, reduced to scrap. A hollow pang of guilt shot through me as I moved the parts around a little. Panicked, I felt my processor for any heat. Nothing. I wasn't delusional, then. I really did feel...guilty. It was a nice model...

Suddenly, an idea clicked into mind. I pulled out my Compactor, and took each piece of warped machinery and fit it in the space. I pressed the small button, and it folded among itself until there was a small cube in my hands. I transformed, storing the cube in the back seat. Maybe with a little time and some secrecy, maybe...

Just maybe.

I am soooo sorry, I really am! Not only does this chapter not make any sense, but I'm three days late. Maybe even four, I don't know! Anyway, hoped you enjoyed this chapter. More will come, I've just been busy lately. What is Knockout going to do with a bunch of destroyed motorcycle? FIND OUT LATER. As always, review and rate!

Over and Out!


	7. Chapter 7

In the last chapter, Knockout and Eliza had a staring contest. And so it continues.

Eliza's POV

Tension held in the air. I sat stock still, my eyes glued to the person's face in front of me. The middle-aged man sorted through documents silently, with the occasional muttering. His face would change, approving one moment and confused the next. I cringed a few times when his face scrunched up in disappointment or he gave an unsatisfactory grunt. The chair I sat on became uncomfortable, and I was itching to move. But I only sat there, waiting for the man to finish his paper-scanning. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, and looked up at me. His dull blue eyes showed no emotion, though they did seem to hold history of a spark in there. After ten more minutes of shuffling papers, reading my fine print, and making enough faces to keep a mime busy for hours, he put the papers down. "Well, through your paperwork you certainly look capable. I just have one question. Why haven't you finished high school?" I sighed. I got this question a lot, especially from my academic superiors. "I enlisted in the Forces when I was fifteen to support my family. I was never able to finish high school because the war was constant. They couldn't afford to send me home. I learned most of what I missed through my fellow comrades." He nodded, "The war certainly can take away everything. Well, I'll have to take a few days to reach a decision, but in the meantime I would like to tell you this: your chance of getting this job are very high. Especially with someone of no education above a freshman in high school. Consider yourself lucky." I nodded, lifting my shoulder-bag over my head. "Yes, sir. When can I expect a response?" He handed me my paperwork, a bundle of papers and files. "I'm not exactly sure, but expect something within a few days, a week at the most." I said goodbye to the man as I exited his office, making my way through crowds of people clogging the hallways. As I opened the exit doors, the sunlight covered my face in a fiery blanket.

This was the third job this month that I had tried out for. The first one I was rejected because they were afraid of a negative influence (daycare center at a children's hospital), and the second one was because they believed in an all-male environment ( they actually never had a woman in their workplace before, but of course they were never one's for chances. I never wanted to work at that restaurant, anyway). But this one, THIS ONE I felt good about. Maybe I'll get this job,and like he said my chances were pretty high. Also, the pay was much better than either of the last ones, and they also weren't suspicious about a girl who was deployed for five yeas with an incomplete high school education. I fingered the keys in my pocket, the metal warm from my body heat. Working at a newspaper place shouldn't be all that bad, should it? I always had wondered who was behind the Wanted ads, the Funnies, and the political headlines. I walked my bicycle out of the parking lot, placing the bike lock in the basket. A week without my motorcycle, and I was still feeling the withdrawal effects. The vibe of the engine, the smooth cool metal, the rubber handlebars that granted me speed, agility, and power. My only weapon against the Decepticons whenever they showed up. I had gone back to the scene looking for it, but there was nothing there. Not even an impact on the ground I rolled on. The memory made my back tingle, the newly grown skin still delicate and thin. I pedaled down the main road, shops just closing up for the night. The stars began to show up, small white orbs against a satin dark blue sky. I made my way up the parking lot, the car gone. Mom and Dad must have gone on another date again. I rested my bike on the workbench, and made my way to my room. When I opened the door, I jolted as I saw Raphael in my room.

"Um...what are you doing?" He looked up, and noticed me in the doorway. "Oh, hey. How was your interview?" I sat down on the bed, combing my hair with my fingers. "Fine. This one feels lucky." I was about to continue when I noticed that he had a stack of papers in his hand. "What are those?" He raised an eyebrow at me. "You tell me. Mom told me to vacuum and all of this came out from under your bed." Oh no. He found the drawings. He shuffled them, one by one. "I'm surprised. These are really good, Eliza. I like this one." He showed me the one I drew of him and Bumblebee, running next to each other. I shrugged, "You two are like partners in crime. I had to." He flipped to the next one, which had Arcee, sitting on a support beam with the moon in the background. "I remember that one," I said, smiling a bit, "the moon was the difficult part." Raph looked at me with raised eyebrows. "And...this one?" I bit my lip. He had flipped to the Knockout one, where he was holding his Energon Prod and preparing to stab something off the paper. "What's with this one?" I shrugged, getting up from the bed. "I was going to make one of Ratchet getting ready to stab something in the opposite direction. An idea. But I never see enough of Ratchet for his sketch to be accurate." He looked up at me, a questioning look on his face. "You've been to the base plenty of times, but you've only seen Knockout twice. How is it that you can remember Knockout but not Ratchet?"

I chuckled, unwrapping a piece of gum in my hands. "Believe me, if a guy tries to kill you once, I'm sure that you would want to remember what he looked like."

Knockout's POV

"KNOCKOUT. OPEN THE STUPID DOOR."

I hastily covered up the project, and fumbled for my tools. Breakdown pounded at the door again, four loud BANGs echoing through my room. I took a few seconds to calm myself, then opened the door to a fuming Breakdown.

"Might I ask what you've been doing lately?" I walked beside him in the hall, his tone a mixture of suspicion and curiosity. "For the past week all you've done after work is go straight to your room. Not to mention, your mind seems...occupied. Of something other than work."

I smiled, clapping my friend on the shoulder, "I've just been tired, that's all. It's not like you to worry, Breakdown. I thought you weren't the 'touchy-feely' type." His eyes narrowed, "Of course I'm not. You just...haven't been talking. Usually on a normal day you would be talking all the time. These days, we almost work in pure silence. It's a little unsettling." I shook my head, "With all the patients coming through those doors, I'm not surprised. They can't even steer out of a path of a giant meteor if their cycles depended on it." It was Breakdown's turn to shake his head, looking back at me. "That's not what I meant. Sure, we work in silence, but it kind of feels like you're not trying to concentrate. You're thinking of something. All the time." My gears twinged. I was thinking of something. That motorcycle that I was working on. It's been a week and I already had the engine fixed. For machines that were only used for transport, they sure were complicated. And this was coming from a mech who dug around Cybertronian insides every day.

"Knockout?"

I started, nearly running into the door to the operation room. Breakdown had the key card in his hand, and was waiting for me to type in the password. I mumbled a quick apology as the doors hissed open, and I set my tools down on the workbench. I had begun organizing them when a dark voice spoke through my comm-link. "Knockout, I request your presence in my chamber immediately." The boss wants to see me? About what? I left Breakdown with the place as I walked down the halls to Megatron's chamber. Rows upon rows of hallways, with nothing but small plaques to distinguish each room. I finally showed up at his chambers, the cold air seeping through the automatic doors. Megatron sat in his throne, eyeing numerous monitors adjacent to the walls. "Permission to enter, my liege?" He glanced up, then shifted in his seat. "Permission granted." I walked slowly into the room, the cold air penetrating my armor plating. "You requested me, sir?"

He pulled up a video feed, and played a video without saying a word. It was the first encounter with Eliza. He freezed the video, zooming in on Eliza's face. "I don't recognize this human, and yet she seems to be associated with the Autobots. Who is she?"

"Well." I stated, observing the weld mark on my finger, "she is related to the small human boy, Raphael. She has trained with the human fighting forces, and she can hold her own against the Vehicons." He nodded, lacing his fingers together. "I see. She is the reason you haven't been able to bring two relics back?" I nodded, afraid to say anything that could start a rant. "I wish to meet this femme." My eyes widened. "My liege, she is strong. How can we-" I stopped myself, suddenly understanding. Bait. All I need is bait. I have bait.

How convenient.

It's 10 pm, and I'm toast. My mind is drawing blanks, and my IPad's about to die. I know, late AND sucky-ish chapter. But I've been busy. As always, leave a review and rate.

Over and Out


	8. Chapter 8

Last time, Raph found some drawings and Knockout almost ran into an automatic door. And so it continues.

I dropped the pills into a glass of water. The chemical reaction made the water fizz with a million little bubbles. After waiting for the pills to cease fizzing, I drank the water. I had worked so much overtime last night, not to mention it was my turn with cleaning the offices. I made the mistake of drinking four cups of straight black coffee to keep me awake. It felt like a good idea at the time. Ah well, at least it added more to my paycheck. I massaged my temples as the dull headache persisted, the medicine not yet finding its way into my bloodstream. God, this SUCKS. My comrades from the war always warned me about first time crashes, but I never took them seriously. I practiced major abstinence for alcohol, and I never smoked a cigarette in my lifetime, though I probably got second hand from the people in my unit. I also usually drank herbal tea (best way to calm me down, in my opinion), and had coffee only on certain special occasions. Which was watered down with loads of milk.

I got up from my seat, stretching out my back. Thank god I didn't have to go to work today. I was about to walk to my room to draw when my phone sudden buzzed. Raph again. I flipped it open and answered. "Hello?"

"Hey, it's me." I rolled my eyes, "No duh, Smarty. I thought this was Miko." I could almost hear him roll his eyes as well. "Anyway, Arcee and Bumblebee were out on patrol and they found something. You might want to check it out. They didn't want to touch it, so they left it for you." "What is it?" I heard him swallow, "A motorcycle. Yours."

My heat skipped. My ride? How? I didn't even think twice, grabbing my helmet and pushing the stand up into the bike. "Where?"

"Same spot that it was trashed. Be careful, okay? I have a feeling this is all too convenient." My gut tugged as I switched the bike into fifth gear. "I know. When am I not careful?"

I arrived at the scene, and sure enough my bike stood in the middle of it. I approached cautiously, getting off my bike. It almost seemed like a mirage, gleaming in the sunlight. It looked almost brand new, the paint not even remotely scratched. The windshield was crack-free, and the frame had no dents. I don't get it. Who fixed it? It was a trash heap last time I saw it, almost beyond repair. And now...completely new. I took a few steps closer to it, then suddenly noticed the storage compartments on the sides. They shone too much. Like they were coated with a layer of diamond. Before I realized it, I had reached out to the motorcycle, almost touching it. The rubber handle almost beckoned my name. With one outstretched finger, I slowly reached out.

Tap.

Knockout's POV

THERE. I removed the cloaking device faster than sound, and grabbed the femme. She was too shocked to react fast enough. I pulled out a syringe, filled with a sleep serum. I stuck it in her, making her yelp in pain. As I pushed on the eject, she eventually slowed down, slouching until she was limp in my hands. Her blond hair tumbled down, overflowing on my fingers. Her head rested on my middle joint of my index finger, twisted to the side. I smiled as I transformed, belting her to the seat. The motorcycle still stood there, along with her bicycle. As I drove away, the final rays of the setting sun cast shadows in front of me. Ah, I love a good day of fishing. And this catch fell for the bait all-too-well.

In mere minutes, I had the human inside my office. Her limp body was small against the large operation table. I had pinned her wrists and ankles down with temporary half-circle staples. I polished my scalpels, and studied the face of the girl.

Her eyes were almond-shaped, with long, dark eyelashes. Her eyebrows were arched, and narrowed down naturally so they looked angry. Her nose was small, but there was an obvious dent in the bridge. She must have broken it sometime or another. Her mouth was slightly open, her teeth peeking out. She was pretty...in a violent sort of way. She certainly didn't look like some of the femmes I had seen on the World Wide Web. Yech. They put paint on their lips and powdered STUFF almost everywhere in their face. This one... there was no trace of artificial enhancer anywhere. She looked tough, like she challenged the world.

Megatron entered my office. " We'll done, Knockout. Your plan certainly worked to its fullest extent." I moved the femme's head so it was balanced, looking straight up. " Of course, my liege. She will be in stasis for a few more cycles, unfortunately. There's no possible way that she can be woken up without doing harm to her nervous system." I heard him scoff to himself. "Give her time. When she wakes, we will give her the welcome she deserves." He exited my office.

I shrugged, walking over to my tools. One was covered in crystallized Energon. I must have been really tired, I thought as I dropped it in the sterilizing chamber. The dissolving Energon and hardened impurities fizzed as the cleaning solution ate it away. I sat down next to the operation table, resting my elbows on the surface.

Minutes passed as I spaced out. Suddenly, a small mumble broke my focus. The human was twitching, talking in her sleep. Her eyebrows scrunched up, and her hands clenched. I started to panic as she started shaking. Her wrists clanged against the shackles that stapled her to the table. Murmurs turned to panicked yelps. I could only watch, until she started screaming. Her body convulsed, waves of shock flowing through her back. I snapped out of it, and rushed through my solutions on my counter. Stabilizer, counter-virus, disinfectant... No, no, NO! There wasn't anything I could fond to stop it. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head, and her screams became much more hoarse. Impatient, I slammed my hand a few feet away from her head, shaking the table. In a start, she stopped.

Her eyes slowly opened.

Eliza's POV

I was drowning in oil, flailing my arms around for buoyancy. But it kept pulling me down, no matter how hard I tried to swim to the surface. I felt my lungs fill with thick, putrid oil, choking only intensifying the pain and burning sensation as it went down my throat. It sloshed around my insides, weighing me down with every strained breath. The monster grabbed my hair and pulled me into the abyss. I fought and fought, my strength sapped by the continuous struggle. I was about to give up, and let it pull me down into the sea of petrol. To finally die a gruesome death. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a single shockwave rocked the ocean. The monster screamed, and let me go. I shot up to the surface, my strength returning with every pump of my legs. As I breached the surface, a white light shot into my eyes...

I slowly woke up, disoriented. My heart was off the charts. I tried to lift my hand to feel my pulse. I felt cold metal hold it back. I blinked and looked to my right. A small, steel shackle held me to the ground. A cold, metal ground.

I suddenly shot, everything that happened rushing through me like a photo album. The large light that hung above me was dim, but I could see everything all too clearly. This table isn't meant for humans. The light is too large. A figure stood beside me, his face all too familiar.

"Knockout?"

He lifted his hand from the table, caressing the fingers. "I don't know what you call that on Earth, but whatever it is it better not be contagious." I raised an eyebrow as I arched my neck to look at him. "What do you mean? You sleep too, right?"

He shook his head, holding a rod of steel on his hand. He angled the table so I was at a 65 degree angle to the floor. He held the rod in front of my face, five yards away. "I need you to look at this rod, and follow it without moving you head, alright?" I nodded, and as he moved the rod my eyes followed. He made me go up, down, left, right, around, and so forth. After thirty seconds he put the rod down and wrote something on a monitor. "Your rotary systems seem to be fine. So whatever that was, it didn't harm you." I narrowed my eyes as he came towards me. "What didn't harm me? What did you do?" He looked at me with raised eyebrows "Me? I didn't do anything to provoke such a violent reaction. I was sitting here, minding my own when you suddenly start glitching out. I tried to find something to calm you down but you stopped before anything bad happened." He came closer, taking a finger and pointing it at me. Slowly, he took the tip of his finger and touched the center of my forehead. "Do tell, Elizabeth. What did YOU do?"

I scowled. Taking words and bending them was MY area of expertise. Right next to sarcasm. I knew what he was talking about, of course. My nightmare. No one besides Raph (though he doesn't know the extent) and Catherine know about those. I took a deep breath as Knockout stood there, waiting for me to start explaining. Should I lie? Should I tell him that it's a disease that can affect machinery? No, I thought, then I would become more of a test subject than I already am. I stared up at him, putting on the calmest look I could muster. All right, here it goes.

"It's not a disease. It's called a nightmare. You don't get those?" He shook his head, pulling up his chair. "When we shut down, everything is stored in a memory card and automatically saved. Tell me, what is a 'nightmare'?"

"Well, when humans sleep, sometimes we have these things called dreams. Dreams are remnants of thoughts from that day, abstracted and sometimes pulled out of proportion. They usually last for the whole night, and they can be about anything. It's like being part of a movie... A screwed up movie. However, when the dreams can be about anything, that also means that they can also be bad. Scary, fear-induced dreams are called nightmares. Usually, they don't cause such a reaction as violent as I have. You sometimes just wake up suddenly, in a cold sweat. But for me, it's different. My nightmares...they never stop. Night after night, I dream about awful things. It's not abnormal for me to wake up screaming and my heart rate off the charts. And the only way for the nightmare to stop it to-"

"Wake up."

I smiled as I shifted in my staple shackles. "So you have been listening. You're smarter than I thought." He shrugged, also shifting in his seat. "When you have a dream, is it different each time?"

"It depends. They are thought remnants. If you have been thinking of something all day, the that is probably what you would dream about. "

"But you said that you keep on having nightmares. What are you so scared of? There's me, of course, and Megatron. But I highly doubt that considering you were brave enough to scratch my paint and put a hole in my finger." He moved over to a table and started to polish some knives. A wave of uneasiness flooded through me, sitting in stomach. Great, I get friendly with the enemy, and now he starts to hint interrogation. Almost as if I had said it out loud, he laughed quietly. "Oh don't worry, Eliza, these blades aren't meant for you. It's getting close to when the night watch gets pummeled. It might be a busy night for me. So just sit tight as I fix up the soldiers, ok? And if you're a good girl..." He laughed quietly to himself as it gently tumbled into silence. I felt my forehead bead with sweat as he sharpened each little scalpel, knife and prod.

This will not end well.

High school. Supposedly, it's supposed to spark inspiration and creativity. Not for me. I am SO sorry that this took so long. Work piles up, my lessons come up, etc. good news though, I have DeviantArt now! It's only got one drawing, but there will be stuff for my stories on there eventually. Who knows, even comics!

As always, Over and Out!


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